Concanavalin A (ConA),
which exists in jack bean, can specifically
bind to either mannose or glucose units. Given that ConA is a potential
anticancer agent for antihepatoma therapy, analytical methods that
can be used for ConA detection in plant extracts or biological fluids
are important. Labeling agents that can be used to distinguish cancer
cells from noncancer cells are also useful for cancer diagnostics.
In this study, maltose-directed synthesis of Au nanoparticles (NPs;
Au@Maltose NPs) were generated from one-pot reactions and used as
sensing probes toward ConA tetrameric forms. Results showed that the
binding affinity between Au@Maltose NPs and ConA was desirable with
a dissociation constant as low as ∼6.66 × 10–8 M. Moreover, the limit of detection against ConA was estimated to
be ∼23 pM, which was the lowest ever reported when Au NPs were
used as sensing probes against ConA. Moreover, Au@Maltose NPs were
used as imaging agents for ConA-treated cancer cells, such as human
hepatoma HepG2 cells and human breast T-47D cancer cells, which can
overexpress mannose N-glycan units on the cell membrane.
NIH 3T3 fibroblast cells, which are noncancer cells, were used for
comparison. Results demonstrated that the imaging agent made from
combined ConA and Au@Maltose NPs can be used to distinguish cancer
cells from noncancer cells.
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